Last Minute
by SayHelloToMummyBear
Summary: A murder case where the victim isn't who their supposed to be leaves the team baffled and tension is high after a drunken night between Gene and Alex changes the course of their relationship and both their lives forever.
1. Screw Up

**Hey there ! This is our first story and first attempt at fanfiction, This chapter is really just introducing the case but there is more Galex to come we promise! We really hope you enjoy it and as you have probably gathered we don't own Ashes to Ashes or any of it characters *sobs hysterically***

'Bolly?'

She could hear his voice in the darkness, growing clearer and clearer.

'Bolly?'

Gene Hunt. She smiled. Her foggy brain began to piece it together and her hazy mind sharpened as the sounds of CID grew gradually louder.

'DRAKE!'

Alex jerked awake and lifted her head from her arms. Gene slammed down a file on her desk and she jumped.

'24 year old female murdered las' night, not three miles from our front door.' Alex picked up the file as Gene continued. 'My turf Bolly, I don't like it.'

She flicked though the pages with one hand using the other to rub her throbbing head. 'So take some bloody pills and shift yer arse into gear.' He snatched back the file. 'We've got scum to catch.'

He stormed out of CID slamming the door behind him. Alex winced, stood up and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. She heard Gene's voice yell from the corridor.

'Come on then!'

She followed him out.

She saw Gene get into the Quattro, He honked his horn in frustration. Ray was chatting up a WPC by the door and Chris was just arriving. She walked past them, grabbing them both by the arm and shoving then though the doors outside.

'Hey!' Ray yelled in protest looking back at the young police officer indignantly.

'Bridget Hart, 24 year old female murdered outside her home at 10:30 last night...' she explained pushing Chris into the back of the Quattro. Ray shook her off.

'Can't she wait?' He asked stroking his moustache and waving back at the girl by the door.

'Get in the bloody car!' She rammed him in too and clambered in herself. Gene started the engine.

'About bloody time.'

'Oh shut up.'

He raised one eyebrow as he sped along the road. 'What's got your lacy knickers in a twist?'

'None of your business,' she snapped at him.

'Well excuse the shit out of me...' He muttered, swerving rather more violently than was needed round a corner.

Gene and Alex crunched over the gravel driveway towards the white-clad forensic. He looked up saw them coming towards him, and stood up, snapping off his blue plastic gloves.

'Metropolitan police. This Bridget Hart?' Gene asked, showing his ID card. The forensic nodded in recognition, and led them over to the lumpy package on the floor, wrapped up in a slightly disgustingly blood-stained sheet.

'Bridget Hart, 24, murdered last nig-' Gene cut him off.

'Yes, yes, we 'eard all that before. Just show us the bloody body and be quick about it.'

'Alright, but I warn you, it's not pretty.' He hesitated for a second while Gene gave him a burning stare, then leaned forwards to lift the sheet up, revealing the poor girls body.

Gene instinctively shifted slightly in front of Alex. Reminding himself not to be a poof, he moved forwards and stared down straight down at the girls face.

There were no recognisable features to say that she was in fact a person before she had been murdered. The whole face had been smashed in and congealed blood was covering every possible bit of skin, hair had been torn out in great clumps leaving huge exposed patches on the top of her head, the neck had been slashed in a spiral like a corkscrew and there were deep purple and black bruises littering the top half of her body and ribs. There were bits of flesh scattered around on the gravel. Alex had to work hard not to look away. Gene, having seen enough, leant back again, raised his eyebrows and took a deep breath.

'Well, Bolly, looks like I've finally worked out what Luigi's been puttin' in that spaghetti of his.'

Alex gave a weak smile. Trying to direct her attention away from the body on the floor, she turned to the forensic again.

'Do you have any idea what might have caused these injuries? Were there any fibres under the nails or anything?' The doctor covered up the girl again.

'Well, judging by the sizes and variety of the cuts and bruises, there was more than one weapon. For the bruises and general injuries, probably some kind of blunt instrument, like a hammer. Some kind of metal weapon anyway. But the cuts on the neck, we really don't know. The cuts are very defined and neat, so it would have had to be something very sharp. But we really have not much clue.'

'Fat lot of bloody use you are,' Gene said to the man and turning away rudely he addressed the others 'Right, we need to talk to the girl's parents. Chris?'

'Yes Guv?'

'Got me an address?'

'Right here Guv.'

'Do her parents know already?' Alex asked as they got back into the Quattro.

'No.' Gene answered bluntly. He wasn't having a good morning. He stuck the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life.

The four of them made their way to the Hart's front door, Gene and Alex in front followed by Ray and Chris. Gene hammered on the Door and stood back.

A young girl answered, she looked around her early twenties with Dark red hair and pretty grey eyes. Alex' heart sank further; she didn't know she had a sister.

'Alex Drake, Metropolitan Police. Is this the Hart residence?'

'Yes,' the girl answered, 'Can I help you?'

Gene spoke 'The body of Bridget Hart was found this morning. She was killed outside a block of flats she lives in last night.'

The girl looked shocked.

'Gene!' Alex half shouted and then she lowered her voice, 'you can't just come out with it like that!'

'I'm so very sorry, Drake,' He hissed back. 'Perhaps you would like me to engage in some gentle foreplay beforehand?'

'You are unbelievable!' Alex whispered before realizing that perhaps now wasn't the time. She looked back at the girl, poor thing, she looked so confused.

'I'm sorry, what?'

Alex sighed heavily. Denial, the first stage of grief. 'She was murdered,' She repeated gently, 'outside her home in white lane.'

'No I wasn't!' The girl replied sounding offended.

There was a silence.

'Wait,' Gene cut in. 'You're trying to tell us that you're Bridget Hart?'

'Yes. And as you can see, I am clearly not dead'

Frustration began to take over Gene. He was fed up with these screw ups in CID and it looked like his morning was going to get even worse. He closed his eyes thinking about how his paperwork had just tripled.

He heard Chris flicking though the file behind him. 'Are you sure?'

Gene turned round without saying another word and stormed back to his car. He started the engine once more and zoomed violently back to CID. Alex pressed her hand against the window to stop herself from being slammed against the side of the car.

'Bloody hell Guv! Slow down!'

'Somebody has been feedin' me lies Bolly and nobody makes the Gene Genie look like an idiot. Nobody.'

**A/N: That was the end of the first chapter! We really hope you enjoyed it and please take the time to reveiw, it means a lot. Untill next time, Phoebe and Eliza xxx**


	2. Something to do with carpets

**Thanks so so much to the people who reveiwed on the last chapter, This chapter has more Galex as promised :D and it sets up the plot for the rest of the story.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately we don't have the right's to Ashes to Ashes but its definately going on our Christmas lists this year :D**

The team were sitting in the cosy little restaurant of Luigi's, soft chatter and quiet Italian opera echoing around in the background. The candles gave the whole place a lovely warm feeling, and Gene and Alex were sitting on their own table for two in the corner slightly apart from the likes of Ray, Chris and Shaz who were laughing and chatting to each other. Gene lifted up the bottle of 'House red' they had been sharing and refilled Alex's glass up right to the brim. Alex gave him a thankful smile, and dipped her head to take a sip from the glass without lifting it from the table. Gene stared at the top of her head, trying to work it out.

'What I don't get, Bolly, is why we were told it was Bridget when the body was actually this Annette Thomson. Didn't anyone think to check with her family before tellin' us? Who ID'd her?'

Alex looked up at him and rested her head in her hands. 'Well, it was Bridget's husband who ID'd her... but I don't think the husband would have told us the wrong name on purpose. The girl was mashed up to a pulp. She was quite unrecognisable and the poor man probably wasn't all that keen to spend too long looking at a bloodied up corpse, even if it was his wife.'

'But then why didn't those doctor people make an effort to check? If they knew he migh' be wrong, then why not? Sometimes, it feels like it's only me who does any work at all round 'ere.'

Alex smiled to herself. She looked up at Gene, who was now staring down into the glass of wine in front of him. He was looking very good tonight, she noticed. His sandy blond hair was slightly swept back and he had abandoned the usual black suit jacket and was just sitting in his shirt, with the top few buttons open. He had also discarded his tie. As though feeling her gaze upon him, Gene looked up and caught her eye for a second. Alex felt a slight flush creeping up the base of her cheeks and hastily took a sip of wine to regain her composure. He scrutinised her for a moment and she stared back at him, feeling a slight frission of excitement.

'Once you've put your eyes back in Bolly, we need to bring the husband in first thing tomorrow morning. What was his name?'

'His name was Oliver. Oliver Hart.'

'Right then, tomorrow, we are going to nail tha' bastard and make him tell the truth. I want everyone in CID bright and early.'

The illusions of an early night and timely start in CID the next morning were shattered when their second bottle of wine began to run dry and the third was opened. Alex was slightly more tipsy than usual, partly because she hadn't eaten anything that night. The body earlier that day was enough to put her off luigi's spaghetti for as while as Gene had so eloquently pointed out.

'I'm telling you you're _wrong_' Alex told him smugly pouring herself a little more and tipping the rest into Gene's glass.

'And you're drunk' Gene pointed out pulling her glass off her

'And you're more drunk' Alex replied pulling it back. She wasn't wrong there. Gene downed the rest of his glass.

'And _I _am you're DCI and _I_ know the colour of my own bloody carpet, thank you very much'

'Maybe you shouldn't be DCI if you don't know your colours' she giggled

'It's _Blue_' Gene growled

'It's _Black!' _Alex spat back they stared at each other for a second and then burst out laughing

Gene stood up 'Get yer coat Bolly' He grabbed her by the wrist, not actually giving her enough time to grab her coat and dragged her outside.

'Where are we going?' She demanded

'We're gonna see who's right'

'Well then Gene Huntttt. Prepare to be proved...provid...proven _proven_ wrong! Ha.'

Gene smirked, walking in the opposite direction, away from CID 'Just. You. Wait.'

Neither of them quite knew how, but five minutes following that conversation they ended up in Alex's flat.

Alex looked crossly around 'Hey! This isn't IDC...' She paused '...DIC...' She paused again '...CID!' She finished triumphantly.

Gene also looked put out. 'We could look at the carpet in here?' He suggested shuffling forwards and looking at his feet. There was a silence.

'I don't want to look at the carpet' she said. Gene looked up to find Alex standing right in front of him. They stayed there for a few seconds in silence, just looking. His sea green eyes pierced her Hazel ones and she could feel his hot breath on her cheek.

Gene threw herself backwards onto the sofa and Alex slumped down next to him. Her heart leapt when she felt his hand brush against hers but he didn't move it away. He just left it, placed gently on top of hers. The silence had now perhaps gone on for too long. Gene being drunk said the first thing that came into his head but this time it wasn't sarcastic, smutty or egotistical. In fact this time he simply said the truth.

'You know Bolly' He said quietly '_Secretly, _I like yer eyes'

There was a very long pause.

She looked at him as if considering what he had just said 'Well... _Secretly _I like your accent'

There was another pause.

He gazed back. 'I like how you never shut up'

Pause.

'I like it when you knock people out'

'I like your psychiatry crap'

'Psychology.' She corrected him automatically

'I like it when you do that'

'I like the way you smell'

They were very close together now.

'I like the way you dress'

Their noses were almost touching.

It took all His remaining courage to say this next thing. He may have been drunk but he was still terrified. He may have encountered drug dealers and murderers, gun shoot outs and secret operations, terrorists and psychos. His job may be to pull the very worst scum off the streets and put them behind bars, single handedly fighting the scariest people London had to offer, but never in his life had he ever been more afraid then he was now. He took a deep breath.

'I'd really like to kiss you now'

'I'd like that too'

And before they knew what was happening they were kissing. His hand found hers again and their fingers entwined. It was nervous at first but they soon got into it. Her hands ran though his hair and slid around his neck. He pulled her in closer as the kiss deepened and sent shivers down her spine. Alex tugged Gene's jacket off him and he pulled her top off over her head. They somehow managed to stumble into her bedroom still interlocked. She began to unbutton his shirt and they fell backwards onto her bed. The bright red phone on her bedside table began to ring and Alex reached to answer it. Gene smacked it off the table, whatever it was, it could wait. He on the other hand, had waited long enough.

**So theres chapter two! Please, please let us know what you think as your reveiws are so awesome! lots and lots of Love Phoebe and Eliza xxx**


	3. Fruitcake Brain

**Hey Guys! Thank you again for the AMAZING reveiws you left us, they always make us smile! This next chapter doesn't really advance much on the case but focuses on Gene and Alex for a bit, we really hope you enjoy it :D**

Alex opened one eye blearily. Snuggling down a bit further, she tried to remember what had happened last night. She got the feeling it was something important... something to do with CID... carpets? Yes, there was definitely something to do with carpets... black carpets? Blue carpets? They were having an argument... her and... and... Gene? Gene! Gene had thought the carpet was blue, but it wasn't. She was sure of that. Wait. There was something more... with a slight gasp, Alex remembered what had happened last night. Her and Gene standing so close together, falling onto the sofa, the phone ringing and Gene pushing it away. She sat up bolt upright, excited, but then reality overtook her. How were they going to act? Naturally? Like it never happened? How would the rest of CID react if they knew? She felt a mixture of excitement and nerves push their way through and start stampeding round her belly. Alex sat there for a minute more, thinking about possibilities that could happen. Snapping herself back to the real world, she dragged herself upwards and started to get dressed.

The Gene Genie was sat at his desk with his crocodile-boot clad feet swung up onto his desk, his glass of Scotch already sat in front of him. Last night... he still wasn't quite sure it had been real. He had wanted it for so long and now... finally. He sighed to himself contentedly, and raised his glass to take a swig. At that moment, Alex arrived through the two double doors exactly opposite his office. Gene stared through catching the gaze of Alex for a second, before she looked away self-consciously and sat down at her desk. She glanced up a second later, but almost immediately her eyes darted downwards again. Gene saw a slight red tinge creeping up her neck and for some reason found himself feeling a bit hot around the ears. At that moment, Shaz knocked on the window of his door.

'Guv? We've got Oliver Hart down in the cells - you know, Bridget Hart's husband? Only I think you should see 'im now if you're going to - 'es getting a bit agitated.'

Gene took a deep breath. Natural, he thought. Nothing out of the ordinary happened last night. He stood up, and strode out of the door.

'Bolly!' He called. Shit! What had happened to his voice? It had gone all squeaky from lack of use and the members of CID were looking at him curiously. All but Alex, who was avoiding his eye. He cleared his throat subtly. 'Lady Bolls,' He said, voice thankfully back to normal, 'We, 'ave got to talk to a suspect. So get your arse down to the interview room now.'

' Yes Gen- Guv- Ge-,' Alex panicked and made a few unintelligible sounds for a moment, before exclaiming loudly, 'SIR!' immediately commanding an awkward silence throughout the whole room. Shaz, looking to break the ice, hurriedly said, ' You look a bit tired today, ma'am, did you sleep alright last nig-' Alex cut her off mid sentence.

'Nowhere! Nothing! No-one! I mean- stop asking questions, Shaz!' Alex managed to stutter. Ray looked around at the rest of CID, trying to stop himself laughing. He concealed his face behind a magazine with a large pair of tits on the front.

Gene and Alex started looking anywhere but each other and both ended up staring down at the carpet in embarrassment. They both looked up and caught each other's eye at the same instant.

'Chequered. Didn't see that one coming,' stuttered Gene.

'Yeah, well, half of the squares are black so technically I was more right than you,' Alex muttered out of the corner of her mouth. This curious exchange left the rest of CID staring at each other in puzzlement, wondering what just happened.

The pair of them caught each other's gaze for a moment, and both hurried out of the doors.

'Well that went bloody well' Gene barked when they were out of earshot, causing Alex's face to flush an even darker red than before 'I'm sure nobody will suspect a thing after that spectacularly convincin' performance you and yer little fruitcake brain concocted back there'

'Viv' Alex addressed the tall skipper who was reading behind his desk, completely ignoring Gene 'Have you got Oliver Hart ready for us to interview?'

'Just though there Ma'am' He jerked a thumb towards interview room 2b and Alex began to stride towards it, Gene overtook her and burst through the doors first, he was clearly annoyed.

The man sitting behind the desk, staring at his feet looked up when they entered. Alex took a seat but Gene took to pacing the room behind her.

The man sitting behind the desk was Oliver Hart. His thick brown hair was in the same cut as Chris, but somehow sharper and more ominous. He had strange blue eyes that were constantly darting about, looking all around the room and taking in every detail. His jaw was set tight which emphasized the dent at the bottom of his chin. Alex could hear him breathing quickly and irregularly from across the table and his fingers were tapping harder and harder on the desk. It seemed Shaz was right when she said he was agitated. Alex looked at him curiously, for somebody who had just found out their wife was in fact alive and not mashed to a pulp at the bottom of a block of flats, he didn't look very pleased.

'Oliver, we received call from you telling us that you're wife had been murdered yesterday. But as you know she...'

'She,' Gene cut in 'Is very much bloody alive, so I'd like an explanation and make it bloody true this time, not the bullshit you span us last night because I...' He slumped himself down in a chair next Alex and glared at Oliver 'Am not in the mood.' He finished.

'W-we had an a-argument and she left. So I w-went outside and s-saw... thought it was her,' Oliver was looking very nervously at Gene who was still scowling at him. He spoke very fast and was stammering slightly.

'Hey,' Said Alex Gently 'slow down, nobody's angry with you.' She looked furiously at Gene 'Take your time.'

Oliver continued but this time he sounded calmer and spoke smoothly. 'I went outside and I thought it was her. So I called the police. I was so relieved when I found out it wasn't...'

'Yeah, you look it,' Said Gene sarcastically

'And there really isn't anything else to it Mr Hunt,' There was a silence and Oliver looked desperate 'Really!' Alex took pity on him.

'It's ok, we believe you.'

'Do we now?' Gene Growled, then he leant forwards 'Listen 'ere Hart, if I find out that you know anything more than you've let on, I swear, you'll wish yer mother had kept 'er legs closed because I'll be coming down on you so hard, the only evidence that yer ever existed will be a poof shaped hole in the floor, do you understand?'

He swallowed and nodded furiously.

'Guv, we've got no evidence suggesting that he did anything wrong' Alex told him, annoyed at how aggressive he was being.

Gene considered what she had said. He burned with anger inside but still couldn't ignore the fact that she was right. 'Get out of my sight'

Oliver didn't beat about the bush, he was up and out of the room like a shot. Gene glared at him whilst he left.

'How dare you speak to him like that!' Alex spat at him as they re entered CID 'The man has done nothing wrong!'

'He might as well have the word GUILTY written across his bloody forehead and don't tell me how to talk to my suspects!'

'HE'S NOT A SUSPECT!'

Ray, Chris and Shaz all looked up, glad to see that the Guv and their DI were back to normal.

'I am yer superior officer and you do not speak t' me like that!' He yelled back at her 'Now get out of my department 'till you've sorted yerself out! Yer no use to anyone this mornin' you worthless cow!' He spat out his last words almost venomously and Alex looked like she'd just been slapped round the face.

Shaz tried to hide her sharp intake of breath. That was a bit of an overreaction, even for the Guv. She thought.

The Guv's mouth fell open when he saw the expression on her face and he looked as if he was going to say something but instead he simply shut it again and waited for her reaction.

Alex turned round and stormed out of CID letting the door slam loudly behind her and allowing an awkward silence to follow. Everyone turned to look at the Guv who carried on as if nothing had happened.

'Chris, Ray I want statements from everyone living by the murder scene.' He barked, pacing up the room 'Shaz, get Annette Thomson's family on the phone and you two!' He addressed two more officers sitting around doing nothing 'Pull in Bridget Hart.' there were a few seconds where everyone continued to stare at him. 'Mush!' He ordered and CID sprang to life.

**Bit of arguing there, but hey, where would Galex be without it? :D Please take the time to reveiw, we will love you forever and untill next time take care, Pheebs and Eliza xxx**


	4. Jam

**Hey Guys :) Again, a massive, massive thanks you to all those people who have reveiwed so far, you are the BEST. This chapter has a little bit of Gene and Alex and a little bit of the case so it's the best of both worlds! We really hope you like it :D**

Alex was still fuming from the incident yesterday. She slammed the bread into the toaster, breaking it nearly in half but not caring. Gene was getting on her nerves at the moment, with everything that had happened in the last day or two. But still! Nothing gave him the right to call her a 'worthless cow' just because she had said her opinion. Alright, maybe she had gone a bit too far and lost control slightly, but Gene topped that completely. Alex jumped as her toast popped up with a ping and yanked it out in frustration. Just as she had started smearing jam all over, she heard a rough voice shouting from behind her door.

'BOLLY!' Alex lifted her chin and went to sit down.

'Police! Now open this bastard door before I knock it down!' She carried on eating her breakfast with slightly shaky hands.

'I MEAN IT BOLLY! YOU KNOW I WILL!' There was a moment of silence and then suddenly a huge thumping on the door, causing the TV to shake slightly. As another crash came, Alex saw the hinge of her door splinter and flecks of wood started pinging off.

'No! Guv- Gu- GUV! No - Don't actually - ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, just don't break my door you- STOP IT!' Alex cried, rushing towards the door hurriedly before Gene did any real damage. The door swung open, revealing Gene standing in front of her, breathing heavily. Alex turned away, leaving the door open and went to place herself squarely on her zebra print sofa, facing away from Gene. He came in, shutting the door behind him, and standing right in Alex's eye line. She took a deep breath, and glared stonily into Gene's eyes.

'You should stop bein' so arsey, Bolly.'

'Yeah, well, maybe that's how 'worthless cows' are supposed to act,' she snapped back. Gene sighed. He had regretted that as soon as the words left his lips the other morning. He glanced sideways at her, still staring ahead at the wall, leaning away from him.

'Listen, Bolly, I...um...I wanted to talk to yer,' Gene cleared his throat awkwardly. 'Well... first, I'm...I'm sorry 'bout yer door, I didn't mean to ...' He trailed off. 'I just mean...I think we need to talk properly, maybe not now but sometime, about when we... yer know,' Gene made various hand gestures. Alex's shoulders softened and she rested her head on her knees. She breathed out loudly.

'I know, we do need to talk. But... I don't think today. Let's just forget about it for the moment and just... get back to CID.' A flicker of a smile crossed Gene's face. He nodded slightly and stood up. Just as he reached the door, he turned around to face Alex again.

'By the way Bolly, you've got jam on yer face. Just there,' He pointed.

'What? Where?'

'Come 'ere, yer dozy mare,' Gene beckoned. Alex moved nearer and Gene wiped it off for her. There was a moment between them, before Gene made his way out again, leaving Alex to her thoughts.

Alex pushed through the double doors into CID, having cleaned herself up, getting rid of any stray jam, and sat at her desk. She was glad Gene had apologized, even if it was in a very 'Gene' way. But at least she knew he cared. Alex rested her head on her hands, and stared towards the Guv's office in a daydream. Shaz interrupted her line of sight, however, and walked towards her.

'Ma'am? I know you've only just got in and all, but it's just that Bridget Hart's not answering her phone, and nor are any of her family. Should we do something?'

'Well why not? Is she even at her house?'

'As far as we know, ma'am, she is, but we can't make any contact with her.'

'Right...Well, we're going to have to go over there to check what's happening. Ray, Chris, you're coming with us. Guv?' She said, walking straight into Gene's office without knocking. 'We're going to find Bridget Hart. You coming?'

'Of course 'm coming, Bolly, it is my bloody department and I'm the one with the search warrant,' he said, picking up his crow bar from the floor, where it was leaning against the filing cabinet.

'Oh for goodness sake,' Alex muttered under her breath, stalking out to the Quattro.

Gene and Alex crunched up the all too-familiar gravel driveway where there had once lain a bloodied up body. The smell of flesh still lingered and it turned Alex's stomach over as they walked past and up the front steps. They went through the communal hallway, towards flat 1a. Alex reached up towards the small doorbell by the door, but before she reached it, the whole door smashed onto the floor. Gene stood beside her, crowbar firmly over his shoulder, looking at Alex's hand still hovering over the doorbell.

'Ding dong,' He said, walking straight in. Alex followed him, and took in their surroundings. The whole flat was incredibly neat, with matching brightly coloured chairs and a retro patterned carpet. Everything seemed to have its own spot where it lived, there was no mess anywhere. But here and there, a few things looked out of place with the rest of the rooms. In the kitchen, a glass was shattered in the sink and the fruit bowl had overturned. As they walked through the flat, Alex noticed more and more odd things like this, which confused her. But in the living room, all became clear. A whistling draught was coming in through the window which had been smashed and now littered the carpet with shards of glass. A break in.

'Shit,' she heard Gene mutter faintly.

'Guv? We're at the parent's house, and there's no sign of them anywhere. Lights all off, heating cold, everything unused for days it seems,' Chris' panicked voice came through the radio.

Gene slowly raised the radio up to his mouth and spoke back into it, his voice surprisingly soft.

'S'alright Christopher, we know. Get the team back to the station. Me n' Bolly will be down in a sec.'

'Roger that.'

He lowered the radio back down to his side and stared for a few seconds longer. Alex followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at, a crimson pool of blood glistening up at them from the floor. She groaned in frustration and looked away.

'Shit,' Gene said a little louder, stuffing his radio back into his pocket. 'SHIT!' and with that he turned and left, Alex quickly following behind.

CID was bustling with activity when they returned and when Gene slammed open the doors and entered everyone stopped and looked up, awaiting his instructions.

'Guv...' Alex began but he cut her off.

'Right,' He announced, picking up a picture of Bridget from the file of the misidentified murder and smacking it onto the whiteboard that had been wheeled out in front of CID. 'Bridget Hart, 24, Missing.' He said slowly as he scrawled it across the board and turned to the room.

'Guv,' she repeated. 'The Phsycolog...' But he interrupted her again.

'Shaz!' He barked, Shaz jumped and looked up from her desk. 'Have you got hold of the parents?'

'Interview room one Guv, we pulled 'em in from work a few minutes ago.'

'Husband?'

'Interview room two, though 'e was a bit more reluctant, I fink he's having a panic attack about his Wife, Guv.'

'Guv! The Psychological review of...'

'Raymondo, Chris, interview them both, I want statements of where and when she was last seen, understand?'

There was a resounding 'Yes Guv.' Then he turned to Alex.

'I just know you're bursting out of your frilly French knickers to tell us some posh psychiatry bollocks, so go on.' He handed her the whiteboard pen and sat down. 'Hit me.'

She looked at him in surprise for a second and then, regaining her composure Alex turned to CID and began to explain about the nature of the break in. She tried to get inside the kidnappers mind, to work out more about him and his relationship with Bridget (if any) and then to hopefully see where that led them. Not helped, however, by occasional sarcastic comments from Gene met with sniggering from the rest of the room.

Why did he give me the bloody pen if he didn't want me to explain? She thought, exasperated. She then snapped the lid off the marker and began to scrawl notes onto the board. It was going to be a long night.

**So there you are Guys, chapter four :D See that little button down there? Hear it calling you? It wants you to click on it and reveiw. Go on. Go on. Don't try and resist the temptation. You know you want to. Anyway! Please let us know what you think and untill next time take care, Pheebs and Eliza xxx**


	5. A man of his word

**Hey Guys! Thanks again to the incredible reveiwers. Sorry this chapter took so long but I'm afraid I couldn't get Phoebe to get her ARSE into gear!**

_**Excuse me? Who was the one who took FOREVER to get their bit done, complained they thought it was crap, deleted it and started again?**_

**...SHUT UP!**

**_I rest my case._**

**I hate you so much.**

_**Anyway! sorry about that! This is our longest chapter yet and we really hope you enjoy it! xxx**_

Alex heard the shrill buzz of her telephone pierce her mind. She shook her head, trying to ignore it, and pushed herself farther down in her bed. Eventually it stopped, to Alex's satisfaction, only to start ringing again even louder than before it seemed. Crossly, she snapped her eyes open and reached over to answer whoever was calling. She brought the phone up to her ear.

'Bolly! Wake up! I need yer to get that bony arse of yours down into CID now. I know we 'aven't had any new leads these last few days, but we got a letter.' Alex sighed. After three exhausting days of hard work with no results, she had been hoping to sneak a bit of extra sleep in. Obviously that wouldn't be happening today.

'Alright Guv, I'll be down in a bit.' Alex croaked out.

'Bloomin 'eck Bolly, I know you often look like a badger's arse first thing in the morning, but I never expected you to start soundin' like one.'

'Oh piss off.'

'Hey, I'm not the one who sounds like Luigi's been putting acid in their wine. So get those privately educated buttocks of yours down to CID now.' Alex dropped the phone back onto its cradle and took a deep breath in resignation. She got up and started to get changed.

Less than half an hour later Alex was in CID, standing around Ray's desk with everyone else and looking down at the letter below. It was short and scruffily hand written and, to everyone's horror, slightly blood stained.

'Hart, Pay up. Or she dies.' Gene picked it up, read it aloud then tossed it back onto the desk 'Well Bloody well, Oliver pissin' Hart again, why is it that whenever anythin' goes down the shitter his name crops up?'

Alex looked down at the desk and then picked up the envelope that the letter arrived in. Her hands trembling slightly she opened it and looked inside.

'Well did we get a ransom demand?' She asked the room, nobody spoke. 'How are we supposed to know how much money they want?' She said, annoyed. She wasn't feeling well enough as it was this morning but she was hoping they'd try being a little less hopeless. 'Well?'

'We're not a bloody bank Bolls,' Said Gene, picking up the note and slipping it into a plastic envelope.

Alex didn't have the energy to argue with him this morning. Wow, she really wasn't feeling well. She leant shakily against the desk and with a twang of dread felt the colour drain from her face.

'Raymondo,' He barked, handing Ray the envelope. 'Get this down to forensics, Chris! Get Oliver Hart down here a bloody gain,' He growled and then turned to Alex. 'Bolly! You n me are...' But he stopped mid sentence when he saw her 'Bolly?' he asked genuine concern in his voice 'Alex? You alright? You look like you're about to...'

But he never managed to finish, Alex clutched her stomach with one hand and her mouth with the other before running out of CID, down the corridor and into the women's bathroom just in time.

She flushed the toilet and stood up gingerly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Then she heard a voice just behind her.

'Ma'am?' It was Shaz; she had been washing her hands when Alex had run past her without noticing.

'Mary Magdalene Ma'am, are you alright?'

Alex meant to reply but it came out as nothing more than a whisper. Shaz took her gently by the arm and led her out into the corridor.

'Blimy, 'ere sit down,' She said kindly as she sat her down on one of the chairs 'I'll get you a glass of water.'

'Thanks Shaz,' she managed to croak, smiling weakly. Shaz sat next to her as she sipped her water.

Gene walked though the double doors and looked awkwardly at Alex. 'Right Bolly, 'm taking you home.'

Alex tried to protest 'No! I'm fine, I'm better, really!' but she didn't look it. She stood up, failing to hide the tremor in her hand.

'I'm taking you home Alex' Gene said stubbornly 'Yer not well.'

'But what about the letter? And Oliver? And what about Bridget? She could die Guv. You need me.'

'I'm sure we'll manage without your presence for one day, Miss Lady Bolls. Now, I'm taking yer 'ome and if I so much as hear about you bein' in CID before tomorrow morning I'll have Chris and Ray arrest yer. And don't you go thinkin' I'm joking.'

He shrugged off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders then took her gently yet firmly by her arms and marched her out of the station.

Alex let Gene take her up to her flat above Luigi's. She still wasn't feeling too good and Gene pushed her straight into her bed when they arrived.

'Right, Bolls, if I see yer anywhere near CID today, I stand by what I said earlier, Ray or Chris will arrest yer and you'll be in a cell until tomorrow. So stay 'ere.' Alex nodded meekly, making a mental note to get back to CID as soon as she possibly could. 'Alright Guv.' Gene let himself out of the door and she heard his distinctive stomps receding down the stairs. Alex let herself relax for a moment and stayed there for a few minutes, working things through in her head. Deciding that she felt better all of a sudden, she sprang out of bed and down the stairs back towards CID.

Alex pushed open the double doors and stepped through. As she wandered back over to the table with the blood-stained letter, Chris detached himself from the group and walked up to her.

'Urm, ma'am? The Guv told me and Ray to arrest you if you came back, and you did so...' Chris trailed off as Alex started to laugh. 'What?'

'Chris, I think the Guv was joking when he said that. You can't actually arrest me.'

'No, he specifically told us to. So... um... I guess I should put these on you?' Chris said, holding the cuffs up. Alex stared at him, bewildered. Ray came over, somewhat awkwardly, avoiding Alex's eye. She stared at them bemusedly. Ray started to put her arms behind her back but she pulled them out of his grasp and backed away slightly.

'Ma'am, we've been told to do this! It's not our fault! So just get on with it and get it over with!' Ray snapped. Alex widened her eyes in shock.

'Ray, I am not going to be cuffed! End of! I don't care what the Guv has said but I am not putting my wrists in those!' Ray launched himself towards her, and pinned her against the wall, where she kneed him in the balls and escaped round the side of the desk. Ray stood up, wincing slightly, and narrowed his eyes at her. They both stood stock still, eyeing each other suspiciously, before Alex darted away to the side, Ray following speedily in her wake. Paper was flying everywhere and the whole of CID had stopped to watch the chase. At that moment, Ray performed a spectacular flying leap across Shaz's desk just as Alex whipped herself out of the way. The members of CID had started to cheer Ray on, whooping and clapping and laughing whenever he just missed her. Eventually, Alex ended up cornered in the kitchen by the sink. Ray advanced, only to receive a cup of stagnant water thrown in his face as Alex rushed out into the arms of Chris who cuffed her neatly. Three other members of CID had to come forward and hold her still, Alex was wrestling so hard to get out. Gene stepped out of his office. 'I am a man of his word Bolly, you should know that by now. Take 'er down to the cells, Ray.' And with that, Alex was pulled along the corridor, screaming insults about anything she could think of.

A few hours later, Alex had still not calmed down. In fact, she had been growing more and more angry being contained in her cell for no reason. So when Gene came down, understandably, she launched herself towards him, kicking anything her foot would make contact with. Gene put a stop to that by bending her handcuffed arms upwards towards her head. She glared at him furiously.

'Guv, let me out of these bloody handcuffs! Enough joking around, you're just being ridiculously immature now!' At that moment Chris came down the corridor. 'CHRIS! If you don't let me out of these cuffs NOW, I will fire you!' Alex yelled in frustration.

'Actually, Bolls, you can't do that.' Gene said.

'I DON'T CARE! JUST GET THESE BLOODY HANDCUFFS OFF ME!' Alex screamed.

'What's up with you Bolls? You got the painters in?' This perfectly normal comment from Gene silenced Alex in one breath. A shivery cold feeling started to trickle down her spine and her head started frantically searching through her mental calendar. Actually, she thought...where the hell were the painters? That morning, when she'd been feeling ill...could it be...morning sickness? The missed period...was she pregnant? Alex stood stock still, not noticing that the handcuffs had been taken off her.

'Ma'am? Maaaa-aaammm,' Chris was saying, waving his hand in front of her as she stared at the wall with horror on her face.

'No,' She whispered. As Gene was opening his mouth to make some comment, Alex stood up straight and desperately tried to re gain her composure. She walked calmly out of the cell, trying to keep her breathing steady.

Gene remained rooted to the spot listening to her footsteps as she walked slowly away. Chris looked at him. 'I think we might have really pissed her off this time Guv.'

But before he had time to reply they heard Alex's scream from the corridor, letting out all of her pumped up anger and fear and apparently unaware that they could still hear her.

'FUCK!'

Gene raised his eyebrows and Chris sniggered. 'Go home Bolls,' He called back.

She complied, leaving as fast as she could. What was she going to do? Her whole body was shaking. Calm down. She told herself. You don't actually know that you're pregnant. Yet.

**So there was chapter five! Hopefully enough Galexy Fluff to keep you entertained ;D and untill next time take care xxx**

**PS: Please please reveiw! We will Love you forever!**

**Lots of love Pheebs and Eliza xxx**


	6. Absolutely Positive

**AHHHH! We are so sorry for the ridiculously long wait! We went on holiday and then had stupid amounts of exams *gets on the floor and grovels for your forgiveness* Anyway, we're back now and will hopefully be better at updating. This chapter is a bit of a filler but there's lots more to come. Anyway enough from us for now and we hope you enjoy chapter six :)**

**Disclaimer: Are you ready for the biggest shock of your lives? We don't own Ashes to Ashes. I know. Take all the time you need. **

Alex was hardly there the following day. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else completely. She had bought the test last night but she couldn't quite bring herself to take it. The following day however was so busy she barely had time to stop for lunch, let alone run home and take a pregnancy test.

The hunt for finding Bridget had grown even more frantic but this time they had a couple of leads. There had been reports of a white Ford van speeding away from the crime scene moments after the abduction was supposed to have happened. Shaz and Chris were working their way through stacks of paperwork about pretty much every white Ford in the city, and had found around four likely candidates.

One of these was Joshua West, a renowned drug dealer and loan shark and one of the scariest at that. He was slippery, CID had yet to find enough evidence to stick him in court but Gene knew that this time he was behind it.

After a hunch earlier that day, Alex had made Oliver Hart send a urine sample down to forensics. It had come back positive for crack-cocaine and heroin, West's speciality.

Gene sat down in the interview room next to Alex and faced West for what felt like the hundredth time. He was a young, slimy looking bloke, well dressed and a look of permanent smugness tattooed onto his face.

'Right! Yer shitbag, where were you at 9:45 on Friday the 9th of April?' Gene barked.

'Gene Hunt,' The man said silkily, ignoring the question and breaking out into a sneer. 'Long time, no see. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?' He eyed Alex up and down obviously and leaned back cockily in his chair. Alex visibly recoiled and Gene growled. 'What I wouldn't give to be arrested by her, alright sweetheart?' He chuckled to himself but Gene on the other hand, was less than amused.

'You so much as lay a finger on 'er and I swear you'll wish you've never been born.'

Alex looked at him, surprised. Where had that come from? But Gene didn't look back, his eyes remained fixed on Joshua. 'Now answer the bloody question.' He barked, his voice growing louder and more dangerous.

'I was with a friend,' he said flatly, avoiding Gene's eye.

'And where were you Tuesday the 6th?'

'I was with a friend,' He repeated then he looked back at Alex. 'Any chance of a private interview love?'

'Right,' Gene stood up and grabbed him by his collar, pulling him upwards so they were face to face. 'Get out Bolls.' He said without looking at her. 'This could get messy.'

Alex, for once, did as she was told. She was quite glad to get away from Joshua West. Though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, the man scared her a little bit.

'Right. You, my slimy little friend, are going to tell me the truth. An' if you don't they'll be hell to pay, because you, are going down.' Gene growled at Joshua, making sure he spat on him as much as possible when pronouncing his words. Joshua smirked, lifting one side of his mouth upwards. This tiny gesture of disrespect sent Gene into a whirlwind of anger. In one fluid movement, Gene had picked up Joshua by the cuff of his jacket and pinned him hard against the wall, so that his toes were barely scraping the floor. 'Enough playing around wi' me! I 'ave had it with you and your stupid games. Tell me, where you were, on Friday the 9th of April at 9:45?' Joshua stared back at Gene, jaw set, and blinked once, slowly. 'I was with a friend,' he said slowly and deliberately. Gene snapped. Kneeing him straight in the balls, he punched him in the stomach and pushed him over on the desk bending his arms up behind him. Gene got a hold of the back of his head and leant down towards him. 'You might think now yer got away with it, but let me make meself completely clear - we will bring you down. We will find evidence. And you will confess.' Gene spat. And with a final smack of his head on the desk, Gene stalked towards the door, leaving Joshua to make his own way out.

Joshua stood up like a shot. Humiliated, he straightened out his expensive suit and yelled back at Gene.

'YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET THAT ONE HUNT! MARK MY WORDS, YOU BASTARD!' He was growing red in the face.

Gene turned back to look at him with an expression of pure hatred. His look alone was enough to send any full grown man running and screaming. 'Oh yeah? Well when you 'it puberty you can come back an' give it yer best shot then, can't yer?' And with that he turned around and left.

'Is that a regular interview process of yours?' Alex asked him once he left the room. 'Yelling at and abusing suspects?'

'Trust me on this one Bolly, that is one man you do not want near you at any time especially, not on my patch.' He growled. 'The sooner we get him arrested the better.'

'So you know he did it then?' She asked.

'Yes.'

'And with what evidence is this judgement based?'

'Enough with the bloody questions Bolls,' Gene said looking at his watch. 'Enough fer today, we've got a big job tomorrow, checkin' out West's place. I am getting to the bottom of this case and I am bringing that girl back 'ome because he is not going to terrorise any more Bolly, especially not on...'

'Your patch.' She finished for him. 'Got it Guv.'

'Good. I'll see yer in Luigi's then.'

Alex nodded in agreement, grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. Her heart racing over the idea of going back to her apartment. She knew that she could put it off no further.

Alex sat on the rim of her bath tub, shaking with silent tears as she looked down at the test in her trembling hand. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the little blue plus sign. Positive. The word kept on replaying in her head, again and again until she couldn't bear it any longer. She threw it with all her might at the wall opposite her, it clattered to the floor.

What was she supposed to do? Tell him? Her stomach churned with nerves at the very thought. No. Not yet anyway. She was hyperventilating. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't. Pregnant in 1982. What the hell was she supposed to do? She gently placed a hand over her currently flat stomach as she tried to steady her breathing. Now what? She looked at herself in the mirror, groaned at the sight and then splashed water over her face. She needed to get a grip. Taking a deep breath she reapplied her makeup, got changed and headed down to Luigi's, trying as best as she could, to keep the thought of pregnancy at the back of her mind.

She arrived downstairs in Luigi's to find Gene sitting, waiting for her with a glass of wine in his hand and another opposite him, already poured and awaiting her arrival. Her heart sank when she saw him. She was just about to ruin his, so far, perfectly normal evening. She sat down next to him, unsure of what to say next. Fortunately it was Gene who spoke first.

'Bolly' He cleared his throat awkwardly. Alex looked up. 'About what happened the other night... I was meaning to...'

'Yeah,' Alex interrupted. She too coughed awkwardly before continuing, 'Yeah, look we need to talk. I...I'm...'

'I think we should start again,' Gene said quickly.

'What?' Alex asked, surprised.

Gene looked uncomfortable but carried on anyway. 'Yer know. Go for dinner maybe, a date like. I don't know, if you don't want to that's fine but...' She could have sworn she saw the Gene Genie's face flush pink.

There was a very awkward pause where Alex just stared at him in shock. She quickly regained her composure however. Did Gene Hunt just ask her out on a date?

'No... I mean yes!' She answered quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. 'Yeah, I mean sure, why not? Not here though, Somewhere away from the team.'

'Right' He looked relieved and took a large gulp of his wine. 'That's settled then.'

'Yeah,' Alex replied, more to herself than to Gene. Not quite believing what had just happened, she too had a large mouthful of wine, but before she could swallow, a thought hit her.

She couldn't drink wine! Not with the baby on the way. Trying to be as subtle as possible, she tilted the glass back towards her mouth and spurted the wine back into the glass. She plonked the glass back on the table, taking an over exaggerated gulp of her own saliva.

Gene stared at her, slightly bewildered but dismissed it as just another weird quirk and went back to staring into his own glass. Alex relaxed and glanced around the restaurant and caught the eye of Shaz. She was staring at her with a slight grimace and narrowed eyes, like she was trying to work something out. Alex froze in her seat.

Forcing a painful smile onto her face, she picked up her glass again and took the smallest possible sip, while trying to make it look like a large mouthful, and allowed the liquid to trickle down the back of her throat. Shaz turned away, still suspicious, and Alex turned back to face Gene with panicky eyes and a frozen half-smile.

'What's up wi' you Bolls? You b'in poisoned?" She looked up at him and forced her muscles to move into a proper smile. How on earth was she going to cope with a whole evening with Gene, not being able to have any alcohol? He's going to notice... pushing the thought out of her mind to think about later, Alex made herself relax for Gene's sake.

**Dun dun dun! She's pregnant! Bet nobody was expecting that! Just wanted to thank our amazing reviewers and everyone who has stuck with us and our tardiness :P Don't worry! Lots more to come in the next chapter including the big date!**

**PS: Please, please take the time to review. You don't know how happy it makes us :)**


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